Non-profit online journalism start-up The Global Mail launched today with the aim of providing free, non-partisan coverage of local and international current affairs to a broad audience.

Headed up by Gold Walkley Award-winning journalist Monica Attard as managing editor and former Time Inc. editor Jane Nicholls as CEO, the site will offer features, news analysis and investigations on issues of public interest.

According to start-up editor Monica Attard, the brief is exciting, but tough;

I had long viewed, with a degree of envy, the ProPublica model in the US and wanted to build a site here that carried only public interest journalism — no ads, no subscription, no celebrity stories, no spin, funded philanthropically. So the model was inspired by ProPublica.org, even though we won’t and can’t do investigations alone.

I hope this venture into the locally un-proven philanthropic business model of public interest journalism is highly successful.

It deserves to be successful; not least of all because of the hard-work that goes into building something brand-new in as yet unknown territory. I worked with Monica Attard at the ABC and have long admired her work. If the team can hit the ground running this week and next, it could become a must-read site.

It is pioneering in the Australian news market. Perhaps the only previous bench-mark was Margo Kingston’s Web Diary.

The long-term question is really: Can something like the Global Mail sustain itself?

Simply put: How will the reporters, editors, producers, assistants and suppliers be paid?

This is something we all have to turn our minds to at some point.

One way to survive is to become indepsensible and so popular that the concept proves itself worthy of support. But then what do you do?

A sum of capital – as well invested as it can be in these uncertain times – will provide a modest on-going income stream. As long as the balance is maintained slightly in favour of the interest dividend you can continue this way till capitalism freezes over.

I don’t know what the business plan is at the Global Mail, but whatever the idea is, I hope it’s a good one.

The highlights for me on a quick read through over lunch today was a theme of bashing the mainstream media. The writers didn’t do it themselves, but the tone of some chosen quotes gives an indication.

In a Stephen Crittenden story about a blogging theatre reviewer with provocative tendencies, I found this:

One former theatre reviewer for Fairfax and News Limited, who asked not to be named for contractual reasons, told The Global Mail: “The pressure is on reviewers to be polite. We now have a situation where newspapers need arts companies maybe slightly more than the arts companies need them. Editors are far less likely to run a bad review for fear of a breakdown in the relationship in the fight for advertising dollars. They won’t say this publicly, but reviewers ‘disappear’ because they’re too harsh.”

Oh dear, we can’t even trust theatre reviews in the paper anymore.But what’s this? Public interest journalism and already we have sources being hidden from the reader. Not necessarily a cardinal sin, but interesting.

My favourite was this grab from Richard Ackland in Mike Seccombe’s piece about why we don’t understand the Occupy movement in Australia:

“I haven’t read anything comprehensive or interesting in Australia. You’d think there would be some sort of analysis, some sort of long-form journalism, that looked at these things [equality issues]. But no.”

There has been coverage of the Occupy movement in the MSM. but Ackland is right about one thing. It hasn’t been very good.

Seccombe’s piece looks at the statistics about who makes up the ‘one percent’ in Australia, or where, more accurately the dividing lines are drawn. Useful ammunition.

Bernard Lagan’s piece on Gillard’s leadership issues was also a good read. He even wryly acknowledges at the conclusion that it is journalists like him who have previously let the public down in terms of political coverage.

On Friday, Feb. 3, [Gillard] lamented that Bob Hawke had gained more media coverage for downing a beer at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the Australia versus India test than she gained for announcing a $95 million boost to cricket’s infrastructure.

The Argus building in downtown Melbourne was once the home of an important Melbourne newspaper. It’s now on the list of Melbourne history walks. I have a scary hare-brained idea that we might be able to restore, renovate an re-occupy this space as a new hub for new public interest and citizen journalism.

Notable features

This Argus building is a fantastic combination of many of the Interwar styles, a Stripped Classical composition with Beaux-Arts, Chicagoesque and Moderne influences. A stuningly regal classical cooling tower is a prominent feature of the Argus building.

The Argus building cnr La Trobe and Elizabeth sts

History

The Argus Building the former headquarters of Melbourne’s Argus newspaper, one of the city’s most popular until the 1960s.

The Argus newspaper took over Melbourne’s first daily newspaper, the Daily News, in 1852 and took a conservative line until 1949 when it was acquired by the London Daily Mirror group. The Argus closed in 1957.

In the 1980s a cement render was applied to the facade of the building, changing the texture of the stone facade.

In 2004, La Trobe University purchased the building with the view of restoring it and use it as a CBD campus. The plans included completing the clock tower of the original design. However the costs of renovating the building and removing asbestos proved too high and the university sold the building late in 2008.

My attention was drawn to this by Melbourne Lord Mayor Robert Doyle. Doyle took listener’s calls today on Jon Faine’s ABC704 program.

He got a question about the Argus building, on the corner of La Trobe and Elizabeth streets, which has been empty and for the most part derelict for some time.

The building has a chequered commercial history following closure of the Argus in 1957.

It has been in a parlous state of repair for a decade or more. Some enterprising explorers have managed to get inside the building at different times and some good pics are around of the cool, but bashed around interior.

No finger prints: the interior of the broken Argus

Argus building expected to fetch $12 million
By Peter Semple
June 5 2002

The building that formerly housed one of Melbourne’s most famous newspapers, The Argus, is on the market again and expected to fetch up to $12 million for owners Ryssal-Three.

The La Trobe Street building seems likely to become an apartment building with the current surfeit of office space either planned or under construction across town.

The Melbourne City Council has approved several applications for residential conversion and the addition of two to four more floors. The latest approval has been for office space and an additional three levels. However, apartments or serviced apartments, or even a boutique hotel now seems more likely.

Owned by the Stamoulis family through its company Ryssal-Three, the property has been on the market twice in recent years without success. In July 2000, it had an asking price of $9.95 million and in September that year the asking price had dropped to $9 million.

The seven-level building on a 2000-square-metre corner site opposite Melbourne Central was completed in 1926, renovated in 1990, and upgraded in 1996. It has a net lettable office area of 10,000 square metres and a frontage of 65 metres to Elizabeth Street and 30 metres to La Trobe Street.

The building is now vacant with the exception of two retail stores – the Argus Cafe and the Genius camera store – on the ground floor.

According to conjunctional agents CB Richard Ellis and Colliers International, the building has been extensively demolished inside, including the removal of asbestos, and is ready for redevelopment.

Ryssal-Three was also the owner and developer of the adjoining building, the Argus Centre. The 34-storey office building (23 office and 10 car parking) was completed in 1991 and sold to Property Income Investment Trust (now Macquarie Office Trust) for $95 million in October 1998.

La Trobe University took legal action against the vendor of the property over the 2004 sale. The uni claimed the developer had misled it over the state of the building.

The central issue was the cost of removing asbestos from the old building.

The matter settled out of court.

11 May 2013 update:

I have removed several identifying words and phrases from this piece at the request of one of the business people involved in the 2004 sale of this building and subsequent legal action at the persistent request of the person involved. It shits me to do this and it’s a hassle that completely fucks with the historical record.

I haven’t done it because I’m intimidated, or because I believe in the concept of ‘f0rgetting’ on the internet. I’ve done it because I cannot be fucked with the hassle from the person concerned who badgered me to take it down. I am not going to take it down, and if you want to know any more about the company or individuals involved, you can google the story for yourself

MELBOURNE property developer XXXXXX [redacted] stands accused of misleading and deceptive behaviour over the sale of the historic Argus building on the corner of

The rendered exterior of the Argus bldg

Elizabeth and La Trobe streets that left its new owner, La Trobe University, with an asbestos and lead paint clean-up bill of nearly $16 million.

An environmental report on the building, which once housed the The Argus newspaper, also revealed it was contaminated with pigeon excrement.

The lawsuit takes aim at XXXXXX director XXXXXXX XXXXXXX [redacted], whom La Trobe claims “aided, abetted, counselled, procured and was knowingly concerned” in contravention of the Trade Practices Act when the Argus building was sold in 2004 to the university for $8 million.

Mr XXXXX told BusinessDay he “vigorously denied the allegations” and would “strongly defend the case”.

UPDATE: Federal Court proceedings in this matter were dismissed and there was no order as to costs. La Trobe University is no longer pursuing this matter, and the University and XXXXX have no further comment to make.

Further update: XXXX XXXXX of XXXXXX has made contact with Ethical Martini over this piece. He is at pains to remind us that no action was taken and that all actions against him and against XXXXX for this matter are settled.

Mr XXXXX writes: “an update posted by the Age [shows] the case was dropped by La Trobe University years ago. It was an accusation that was unfounded and was withdrawn, this was unfortunately not picked up by The Age in another article which leaves the accusations open ended on the internet, the best they could do was paste an update across the article when you open it, unfortunately the clarity doesn’t come up in the opening lines only the accusation (as with your posting…see below). The legacy is that the article remains as does your post. It shows up every time you google XXXXXX or XXXX XXXXX I had hoped the article would over the years eventually become “fish & chip paper” (no disrespect intended) however the internet serves as a different platform and it continues to be the feature article when you do a search.”

I am happy to put Mr XXXXXX’ side of the story and wish him no harm, but I am not going to butcher my own blog for the sake of some business guy’s reputation.

The asbestos issue is interesting. The 2002 news report quoted above suggests the asbestos was removed some time ago, but the La Trobe case suggests that the university had to pay double the purchase price ($8 million) for the asbestos removal.

The building still attracts interest from people who think it would be great to live there. But Robert Doyle inspired me to imagine a different future for this building.

What if we could somehow reclaim it and turn it into a new home for journalism in Melbourne. Perhaps it could be a hub for new start-ups. Maybe Crikey could move into one floor and the various Melbourne journalism schools each have space there for student publications and broadcasts.
It would make a great centre for citizen journalism and indymedia-style operations in the heart of the city. It’s a shame that La Trobe abandoned the building in 2008, it would have made a great city campus. It sill could, but the investment would be in the tens of millions of dollars.
However, perhaps all is not lost. In March 2010 it was reported that an ‘education entrepreneur’ had bought the building and it was to become a campus after all.

LA Trobe University has offloaded its asbestos-riddelled Argus newspaper building for $15 million, after spending $34 million trying to get a project off the ground.Education entrepreneur Shesh Gale, owner of the Melbourne Institute of Technology operation which targets international and domestic students, plans to redevelop the 84-year old building into a teaching facility.The Australian reports Mr Ghale will spend about $50 million on the renovation, which should be completed by the end of 2011.It’s expected Mr Ghale will sell a Lonsdale Street office which currently houses MIT students. The education focused property developer is also building an $80 million facility in William Street which also includes student accommodation, The Australian reports.

The building was the scene of a dispute between vendor La Trobe University, and the private developer the school bought the building off, after it was discovered “larger-than-expected” amounts of asbestos.

The facade of the building is protected under a 2011 heritage order. But unfortunately the trail goes cold at this point.
I can’t help but wonder what is going to happen now. It would be good to save this old icon, but it would be even better to turn it into an independent news outfit that could rise, Phoenix like, from the dust of the derelict.